This year the Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics of Saratov University celebrates its 75th anniversary. Initially, it functioned as the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics (from June 1, 1917). Its first dean was Professor Vladimir Zernov. In the 1917/1918 spring semester the Department of Higher Mathematics was established. Vladimir Golubev became the second dean of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics. He was an outstanding mathematician, who later headed Saratov University for two years, and then worked as the first dean of the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics of Moscow University.
In 1935 instead of one department 5 new ones were organised: the Department of Mathematical Analysis, the Department of Function Theory, the Department of Probability Theory, the Department of Geometry, and the Department of Algebra. Leading scientists were invited to manage the newly opened departments: Ivan Petrovskii, Alexander Khinchin, Alexander Kurosh, Victor Wagner. Their work has brightly marked the history of the faculty.
In 1937 the Department of Theory of Elasticity was opened, and it was chaired by Sergei Lekhnitskii (later – professor, laureate of the state award). In the same year the Institute of Mathematics, Mechanics, and Physics was organised at the faculty, which was headed by Victor Wagner. Another important event of the pre-war period was the installation of a wind tunnel led by Ivan Chudakov and Sergei Kutin. In 1938 the Laboratory for Optical Methods of Stress Research was founded. Bruno Risenkampf carried out important research on the theory of groundwater filtration. During the Great Patriotic War the departments did not only teach students but solved tasks for the defense industry: they made calculations by orders of military plants and consulted engineers and technicians.
By the decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR dated July 18, 1945, the Faculty of Physics was separated from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics as an independent structural unit, and the faculty was renamed into Mathematics and Mechanics. Then the faculty had 5 departments, and the enrollment was about 50 students.
The post-war period, 1945-1959, was a time of rapid development of the educational unit. Then new scientific research was done, more people received PhDs and Terminal Degrees. Notably the Computing Center was opened at the faculty in April, 1957. It was the first one not only in Saratov but for the entire Volga District. A group of the university employees played a crucial role in its establishment – Georgii Boev, Anatolii Bogomolov, Evgenii Burmistrov, Nikolai Kuptsov, Vladimir Guryanov, Yurii Vasiliev, and Aleksei Barabanov. Aleksei Barabanov, who permanently headed the faculty from 1947 to 1961, managed to create business-like and at the same time friendly atmosphere at the faculty.
In the 1960s-70s the Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics steadily developed. At that time a particularly noticeable role in the life of the faculty was played by professors Victor Wagner, Nikolai Chudakov, Savelii Falkovich, and N.P. Kuptsov.
In the late 1970s and the 1980s computer technology was rapidly developed, as a result the third-generation computers appeared, and their usage in production and management foreshadowed colossal scientific and technological progress. This led to the growth of discrete mathematics, and its apparatus was adapted to the study of issues associated with computers. New disciplines appeared in the faculty curriculum: mathematical logic, theory of algorithms, discrete mathematics, theory of automata, and algorithmic languages.
During that period Anatolii Bogomolov returned to the faculty, organised and chaired the Department of Mathematical Cybernetics, At the same time he became the rector of the university. Anatolii Bogomolov made a significant contribution to the development of the Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics. During his tenure new departments were opened: the Department of Mathematical Cybernetics (later – the Department of Discrete Analysis), the Department of System Analysis and Automatic Control, and the Department of Theoretical Foundations of Informatics. Initiated by Anatolii Bogomolov All-Union conferences and scientific schools on cybernetics were held in Saratov University, a Specialized Scientific Council for the defense of dissertations was created, and we started publishing the research papers on cybernetics and artificial intelligence.
The faculty development over the years is explained by the following main reasons. Firstly, it is the development of mathematics itself, an increase in its role in scientific knowledge. In recent decades mathematisation of sciences has been clearly observed, and disciplines that were traditionally considered non-mathematical – economics, psychology, linguistics, medicine, history, and many others – use the achievements in mathematics. Secondly, it can be explained by a qualitative growth in management associated with the application of information technologies based on the use of computer technology.
A great contribution to the development of the Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics was made by Leonid Kossovich, who was its dean for 10 years, from 1993 to 2003. Later he became the rector and then the president of the university.
Today the Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics includes 10 departments, Legal Processes and Phenomena Mathematic Modelling Laboratory, University Laboratory of Microcomputers, and NET Education Centre. Research and teaching at the faculty are carried out by 22 staff members with terminal degrees and 72 associate professors. More than 900 students are studying there, mainly full-time. This year the faculty is ready to accept about 250 state-funded enrollees.
Since 2003 the faculty has been headed by Associate Professor of the Department of Mathematic Analysis Andrei Zakharov. In the anniversary year the dean addressed his colleagues, students, and graduates of his faculty with welcoming words.
“According to the academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Boris Kashin, Saratov is a special point on the map of Russia where many mathematical talents were born. The Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics has taught thousands of highly qualified specialists. Among them are outstanding scientists, members of the Academy of Sciences, and laureates of the State Prize for Science and Technology and the State Prize for Defence. Our graduates form the new digital economy. Education at the SSU Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics has a brand name.
“I would like to say special words to the 2020 graduates. During this special, difficult period of non-contact learning you proved to be real professionals, trained specialists. You have defended your graduation papers a high level, and it is the best assessment of the conscientious work of the entire faculty staff. Congratulations to teaching and other staff, students, postgraduate students, and graduates of the Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics on the 75th anniversary! Stay healthy, prosperous, and creative!" Andrei Zakharov wished.
